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Book Review
| Aliens in the Backyard: Plant and Animal Imports into America. By John Leland. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2005. 235 pp. Illustrations, notes, index. Cloth $29.95.
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| In Aliens in the Backyard, John Leland explores the introduction of plants and animals to America, their intended function, how they were understood once integrated into the environment, their process of "naturalization," and how their use changed over time as different choices were required to create a world that was more suitable to American habitation. Leland shows us that newcomers are a part of not only the historical landscape, but also the cultural experience of America. He argues that diverse, complex, conflicted "aliens" ultimately melded, intermingled, and acculturated into a broader context of transition, change, and transformation to produce something "natural." |
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In an implicit recognition of the dynamic character of not only so-called "American" environments, but those that were shaped by non-newcomers as well, Leland stresses that humans are an inseparable part of this American-styled nature. Predictably, the book begins in 1492, but Leland problematizes this traditional periodization by arguing that "natural" America is cultural fiction. Clearly, there is no easy way to define what is natural. In many ways the book exposes our hypocrisy about how we choose to see ourselves in nature. Leland's humor is at its best when he exposes preconceived notions that set humans above, below, or beyond the world around them. He does not shy away from highlighting the unintended consequences of well-meaning choices. |
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Aliens in the Backyard contains few insights into the controversy surrounding invasive species, bio-diversity, climax communities, and habitat alteration, and it does little to engage basic debates within the areas of speciation, ecology, or biogeography. Further, Leland writes in apparent isolation from environmental history because despite obvious similarities, his arguments do not consider the scholarship of Alfred Crosby, W. H. McNeill, Carolyn Merchant, Clarence Glacken, William Cronon, Donald Worster, Roderick Nash, or Sam Hays, to name a few. Only a few sources, such as Steve Pyne's Fire in America and an article from Environmental History on the Hessian fly receive attention in the notes. Without grounding in the established literature the book appears out of place, even as Leland roams across the American landscape, picking and choosing topics that suit his desire, offering conclusions that are refreshingly candid and uncommonly free from NIMBYism and environmentalism. |
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Leland weaves together a cultural context for nature that is, as he puts it, "strangely" familiar to Americans who are accustomed to being titillated with interesting anecdotes and stories about themselves under the guise of "history." The central theme of nature as culture, or perhaps more accurately stated, nature as American culture, limits Leland as much as it sets him adrift to explore diverse topics and esoteric details. Unfortunately, Leland does not ask us to reconsider America the melting pot. Rather he reinforces the country's naturally alien character. Naturally, Leland could not possibly see his familiar backyard any other way. |
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Bruce Shelvey, professor of history at Trinity Western University, researches invasive species in Hawaii. |
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